Orthodontic bracket



Jan. 12, 1965 M. WALLSHEIN 3,164,900

ORTHODONTIC BRACKET Filed March 7, 1961 H68 FIG-9 INVENTOR, MELVINWALLSHEIN,

ATTORN EY.

3,164,900 ORTHGDQNTIC BRACKET Melvin Wallshein, 8645 Bay Parkway,Brooklyn, NY. Filed Mar. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 105,248 3 Ciaims. (Cl. 32-14)The present invention relates to improved fittings for use inorthodontia and more particularly to clamps for attachment to an archWire which when mounted on toothencircling-bands or other support means,will serve as brackets to hold the arch wire. Further, these devices maybe made in various sizes to serve as clamps generally for various uses.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved clampingdevice to serve for the purposes mentioned, which will accommodate wiresof different sizes and in various embodiments thereof will hold morethan one wire at a time and if desired, will hold bent Wires which maybe stressed to exert forecs as may be required when used in orthodontia.

Another object thereof is to provide novel and improved devices of thecharacter mentioned, which are reasonable in cost, simple inconstruction, easy to use and eflicient in carrying out the purposes forwhich they are designed.

7 Other objects and advantages will become apparent as thisdisclosureproceeds.

For one form of practice of this invention the body of the clamp is atapered form presenting an open channel or mouth whose lips are at theapex region of such body. This body has some resilient quality so thatwhen a retainer ring is forced or turned as a nut thereon, the mouthwill close somewhat and thereby securely clamp a wire which is withinand across the mouth. Mouth surfaces may be serrated and the taperedsurfaces receiving the ring or nut may be provided with notches orthreads. If desired, the body may have intersecting mouthswherebycrossed or bent wires may be held. The mouth may be a V-channelor of rectangular cross section. In other embodiments, the mouth mayextend inwardly from the base of said tapered body. The clamp may bemade of rod stock suitably machined or it may be bent from wire or stripmaterial.

Various forms embodying the teachings of this invention will now be setforth in detail, for which reference is had to the accompanying drawingforming part of this specification and in which drawing, similarcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a patients upper teeth about whichis an orthodontic arch wire or cable shown mounted on brackets embodyingteachings of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the clamping member used forsaid brackets.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken at line 33 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3. I

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another form of clamping member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the ring adapted for association withthe clamp body of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a clamping body having crossed mouths.

FIG. 8 is a side View of another orthodontic fitting supporting an archwire. This view is fragmentary and enlarged. The ring is in section.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the fitting shown in FIG. 8. Here, the clampis shown made of strip material.

FIG. 10 is a side view of another form of clamp structure, whose body isof wire or strip material.

In the drawing, the numerals '18' designate gen- United States Patent 03,1643% Patented 'Jan. 12, 1965' erally what may be called mouths in therespective tapered forms indicated generally by the numerals 15- 18which may be called clamp bodies. Those marked 15 and 16 may be madefrom bar stock and those indicated 'as 17 and 18 may be made of strip orwire.

. The material used for these bodies has some resilient quality so thatwhen any mouth is closed somewhat, it shall spring back to fully opencondition when the lips are let go. In FIG. 2, the lips are indicated bythe numerals 19 and 20 respectively. After a wire is placed within andacross a mouth 15'18, as for instance the arch wire 21, a retainer ringor a nut 22 is forced or screwed onto the clamp body to pinch or forceits lips a bit together, whereupon the wire is securely clamped.Peripheral serrations or threads to engage the ring may be provided asat 36, or there may be suitable grooves as at 37, 37' or serrations asat 38, across the outer surfaces of the clamp body as may beappropriate. Mouth surfaces may be serrated as shown at 23, 24 and 25.If desired, the ring fit may be frictional instead of using serrationsor threads as would be the case of associating a ring 39 and a clampbody 16 in which the grooves 37, 37 are omitted. The size of the ringhole is preferably sufiicient to admit therein a bit of the apex regionof the clamp body. The body 49 is.

like 15, except that it is provided with a second mouth 41)" whichintersects its first mouth 40' and though its outer surface is shownminus serrations for engagement of the ring 22, such serrations orthreads as at 36 may be provided on body 40. The clamp bodies 15, 16 and40 may be machined from bar stock, forged or made by another suitablemanufacturing process. The bodies 17 and 18 may be bent from eitherstrip or wire. The tapered body may be conical as 15 or 40 or pyramidicas 16. One or both faces of the ring or nut 22 may have serrations 22',at least around the hole as shown in FIG. 9 to avoid accidentalunscrewing. The mouth, serration or thread structure in one, may besubstituted in any of the other clamp bodies wherever applicable. Mouthentrance may be at the apex as in the bodies 15, 16, 17 and 41), or atthe base of tapered form as in the body 18.

For use as a clamp to be applied to the arch wire 21 in orthodontia, theclamp body may be provided with a hook 42 or other orthodontic auxiliarymember, and for use as a bracket, any clamp body is welded or otherwisesuitably mounted on a tooth-encircling band 43 which is fitted tightlyon a tooth 44. If the wire 21 is set to contact the mouth surfaces andthen the ring 22 is forced on as in FIG. 3, said wire will be tightlygripped. If the Wire size is such that it contacts only one face of themouth when the ring is mounted, said wire will be loose. In orthodontia,some instances require a tight grip so that the wire is anchored, and inother cases it is desired that the bracket shall support the arch wire,but that such held wire shall be free for longitudinal movement. Whentightly held, it is evident that the serrations as 23 will bite into thewire to aid the hold thereon. If desired, the mouth faces may bechanneled as at 44, 45 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 to receivedifferent size wires one or two at a time. The mouth may be V-shaped, orhave parallel surfaces as at 46. When crossedmouths are used as in theclamp body shown in FIG. 7, the arch wire may be bent to have an angleband 21' to straddle a prong 47, and be loose and tensed whereby itstendency to straighten will cause a torque force on the member 40 as isa prac tice in orthodontia for purposes well known.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applicationswithout departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It istherefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown. herein shallbe deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that ber, wherebya wire may be dlamped within the V-shaped the patent shall cover allpatentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to thefollowing claims rather than to the specific description herein toindicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A wire clamping device comprising a resilient M- shaped member formedof a single length of material, said member having outwardly divergingleg portions with outer surfaces, and the top of the M-shaped memberforming a V-shaped channel having converging inner surfaces, a ringmember engaged upon the outer surfaces of the leg portions, said ringmember having an inner diameter greater than the distance across the V-shaped channel and less than the distance between the ends of theoutwardly diverging leg portions, and cooperative engaging means on theinside diameter of the ring and the outer surfaces of the leg portionspreventing slippage of the ring member off the M-shaped memchannel bythe ring member and the resilient action of the converging innersurfaces of the channel.

2. A device as in claim 1, including a means adapted to be mounted on atooth and the ends of the leg portions secured to said means.

3. A device as in claim 1, wherein the cooperative engaging meansinclude serrations on the outer urfaces of the leg portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS270,705 Tumey Jan. 16, 1883 529,933 Mullen Nov. 27, 1894 817,588 ReisingApr. 10, 1906 1,797,194 Knapp Mar. 17, 1931 2,767,469 Gladstone Oct. 23,1956

1. A WIRE CLAMPING DEVICE COMPRISING A RESILIENT MSHAPED MEMBER FORMEDOF A SINGLE LENGTH OF MATERIAL SAID MEMBER HAVING OUTWARDLY DIVERGINGLEG PORTIONS WITH OUTER SURFACES, AND THE TOP OF THE M-SHAPED MEMBERFORMING A V-SHAPED CHANNEL HAVING CONVERGING INNER SURFACES, A RINGMEMBER ENGAGED UPON THE OTHER SURFACES OF THE LEG PORTIONS, SAID RINGMEMBER HAVING AN INNER DIAMETER GREATER THAN THE DISTANCE ACROSS THEVSHAPED CHANNEL AND LESS THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE ENDS OF THEOUTWARDLY DIVERGING LEG PORTIONS, AND COOPERATIVE ENGAGING MEANS ON THEINSIDE DIAMETER OF THE RING AND THE OUTER SURFACES OF THE LEG PORTIONPREVENTING SLIPPAGE OF THE RING MEMBER OFF THE M-SHAPED MEMBER, WHEREBYA WIRE MAY BE CLAMPED WITHIN THE V-SHAPED CHANNEL BY THE RING MEMBER ANDTHE RESILIENT ACTION OF THE CONVERGING INNER SURFACES OF THE CHANNEL.